Back-washing brush



April 30, 1935. G. PAGE BACK wAsnnw BRUSH Filed Nov. 2, 1933 Patented Apr. 30, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

completely flexible handles-at its ends, soar ranged that the brush maybe freely moved back andforth upon the back of the person using the same, without the necessity of indulging in contortious movements of the arms, such asare, necessary in using the usual type of bath brush having rigid handles.

I accomplish this object by means of a brush.

having a body of bristles of sufficient area andof suitable size mounted in a flexible backing means capable of readily conforming the brush to the surface of the body as it is moved over said surface. i I

My object is further carried out by the provision of long, flexible handles at the ends of the brush, arranged to extend sufficiently in front of the body to be conveniently grasped by the hands for the purpose of manipulating the brush as desired, without undue contortions.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing which illustrates structural embodiments of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, V

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bath brush structure laid out in flat form with the flexible handles extended for the purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is an edgewise or side view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fanciful figure illustrating the manner in which the brush is utilized for the purpose;

Fig. 4 is a plan view similar to Fig. l, of a modified structure embodying the invention; and

Fig. 5 is an edgewiseor side view of the struc-- ture shown in Fig. 4.

In the preferred form, the structure comprises a plurality of brush units or sections A, sufficient in number and size to provide a considerable brush area or expanse. The sections are disposed in parallel and slightly spaced apart and flexibly connected or related so that the structure will readily adapt itself to the curves of the body, thereby effectively contacting all of the surface over which the brush is moved. The sections are preferably made up of small rectangular-shaped individual brushes, each comprising a rigid backing member I, in which the bristles 2 are mounted.

The individual brushes of each section are ar ranged with their backing members I placed back to back, so that the bristles will project from both sides of the structure, the purpose of this arrangement being to render it unnecessary to exercise any particular care in positioning the brushes so that the bristles will contact the body.

The individual brushes may be secured back to back and the sections flexibly connectedin any suitable manner. In the present structure, I employ flexible fabric tapes or straps 3 disposed adjacent the ends of the sections and clamped between the corresponding backs l of the individual brushes. This can be'easily accomplished by the use of waterproof glue or cement for fastening the backs of the individual brushes together with the straps therebetween. The portions 4 of the straps between the brush sections act as completely flexible hinge connections for the sections, so that the. sections are freely movable and readily conformable to the surface of the body. 1

These straps are extended at each .end of the brush structure to form flexible handles 5, and their outer ends can be secured together or even made integral so as to form loops convenient for the person to grasp. The handles are sufliciently 7 in normal position. The brush can then be manipulated by drawing it alternately back and forth in a see-saw motion.

The structure illustrated in Fig.4'is a modification'of that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, to the extent that a single backing member 6 is utilized and provided with a relatively large group of bristles 1 projecting from each side, these groups be- 7 ing equivalent, or nearly so, to the area of combined groups-of bristles in the individual sections of the structure of Fig. 1. The backing material 6, however, is preferably made out of any suitable, fiexible material, such as rubber, to enable the brush to flex or' bend in conforming to the curves ofthe persons back. In this case the flexe ible tapes or straps which form the handles 5 are arranged with their ends secured to the backing'm'ember 16 by being embedded therein, as shown 'at 8 in Fig. 5.

It is obvious that the structure is of such nature that various changes or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is understood that I contemplate such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A back bath brush of'the class described, comprising a plurality of parallel sections spaced apart, with each section comprising a pair of backing members having groups of bristles ex- 7 tending from a face thereof, said ,backing members in each section being secured together back 6 to back, and a pair of flexible straps extending in parallel relation between the backing members of said sections, said sections being secured against movement on said straps to form hinges between the sections and said straps extending beyond the opposite end sections to form handles for manip ulating the brush.

GRACE PAGE. 

